(IRAN) S. Res. 284:Introduced 10/31 by Risch (R-ID) and 3 cosponsors, "A resolution calling on the Government of Iran to
immediately release Saeed Abedini and all other individuals detained on account of their religious beliefs."
Referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations. Text of the legislation is available here.

(IRAN) HR
XXX:This week, the Washington Free Beacon posted text of a
"discussion draft" of legislation related to Iran. The draft is dated October 25, 2013 and the author is indicated
to be freshman Congressman Brad Schneider (D-IL). The Free Beacon asserts that the bill is a Democrat effort to
"tighten sanctions following warnings that Iran could be anywhere from two weeks to one month away from building a
bomb," and then goes on to quote various sources criticizing and ridiculing Democrats for backing such an effort.
In this context, it is worth noting that if this were a serious Democratic initiative, it would no be being led by
a freshman member with no political weight on the Iran issue. It is also worth noting that a strong case could be
made that the proposed legislation is unconstitutional, representing a gross infringement on the Executive branch's
foreign policy prerogative, to such an extent that no White House would likely accept it (regardless of the party
in power).

(IRAN AUMF) HR 3292 -
UPDATE: Introduced by Franks (R-AZ) 10/15, with 15 cosponsors. For details and analysis of the
bill, see the 10/18/13 edition
of the Round-Up. As is now being noted in the media, HR 3292 is picking up some steam in terms of cosponsors,
but, notably, only among a select group of Republicans. As of this writing, the bill has 28 cosponsors (for a total
of 29, including Franks). Of those, all but one (Cramer, R-ND) are members of the infamous "'No' on HR 2775 Gang ." That is, they are among the 144 House
members who voted last month against ending the government shutdown. On 10/28, Frank made an impassioned floor speech in support of
his bill, suggesting an imminent threat of a nuclear-armed Iran. Also see: Buzzfeed 10/31: Resolution For War
Against Iran Gains Traction In Conservative Wing Of The House

The big story this week was reported efforts of the Obama Administration to convince Congress to hold off on
consideration/passage of new Iran sanctions. This effort included direct outreach to leaders of some American
Jewish organizations that are lobbying the Hill for more Iran sanctions. As of this writing, it is not yet clear
what effect, if any, the Administration's efforts will have.

For insight into the extent to which Jewish leaders cited in both of these articles represent American Jews,
see the recent Pew
poll of U.S. Jews - which among other things found that noted that 52% of Jews approved of the Obama
Administration's handling of Iran). For additional insight into little some of these leaders care whether they
actually represent the bulk of American Jews, see these illuminating
comments from the ADL's Abe Foxman, et al. It is also worth noting that a recent poll commissioned
by the American Jewish Committee (part of the "Quartet") found that fully 62% of Jews polled approve of the
Obama Administration's handling of Iran, and that U.S. Jewish support for U.S. military action against Iran (those
who both "strongly" and "somewhat" support such action in the case that sanctions and diplomacy fail) has dropped
by more than 10% in the past year -- from 64.1% in 2012 to 52% in 2013 (JTA 10/28).

In addition, the Republican
Jewish Coalition is continuing to press the Senate to pass new Iran sanctions, issuing another action alert on
10/29 (for more on this, including on the RJC's connection to Sheldon Adelson, who recently called for bombing
Iran, see last week's
Round-Up).

And finally (as of this writing): on 11/1, United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) - an organization backed by some former political heavyweights -
released a letter
it sent to President Obama and Congressional leaders calling for "legislative debate on the principles of Iran
nuclear negotiations." The full press release on the letter is available
here. Unsurprisingly, the principles proposed in the letter appear to be out-of-sync with the Obama
Administration's current approach on Iran negotiations (and appear, likewise, unrealistic in terms of what Iran can
be expected to accept). It is worth noting that the letter is written in a manner that suggests that it could
easily be translated into nearly ready-made legislation (and may well have been drafted for this purpose), so stay
tuned. Notably, as with the draft Schneider bill (discussed in Section 1, above), any such legislation would
represent a gross infringement on the Executive branch's foreign policy prerogative - to such an extent that no
White House would likely accept it (regardless of the party in power).

In addition to reaching out to Jewish leaders, Obama Administration officials this week continued their
efforts to directly engage Congress and convince members to hold of on new sanctions. Like the Administration's
efforts with Jewish groups, it is not yet clear what effect, if any, the Administration's efforts will have.

10/31: The
Senate Foreign Relations Committee held a hearing entitled "Syria." The first panel of witnesses was: US
Ambassador to Syria Robert Ford [statement]; Assistant Secretary of State for
International Security and Nonproliferation Tom Countryman [statement], and USAID Assistant
Administrator Nancy Lindborg [statement]. Panel two consisted of Fred
Hof, from the Atlantic Council [statement] and Leslie Gelb, from the Council on
Foreign Relations [statement].

10/30:
There was a joint hearing of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global
Human Rights, and International Organizations & Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa,
"Establishing a Syrian War Crimes Tribunal?" Witnesses were: David Crane, Syracuse University College of Law
& Former Chief Prosecutor, UN Special Court for Sierra Leone [statement];
Alan White, AW Associates & Former Chief Investigator, UN Special Court for Sierra Leone [statement];
Jeremy Rabkin, George Mason University School of Law [statement];
Stephen Rademaker, Bipartisan Policy Center [statement];
and Richard Dicker, Human Rights Watch [statement].
Middle East Subcommittee Chair Ros-Lehtinen's (R-FL) opening statement is available
here. "Video of the hearing is available here.

Miller (R-MI) 10/31: Statement on Syria Meeting First Deadline to Eliminating its Chemical WeaponsSchakowsky (D-IL) 10/30:
``Anti-Christian Terror Is Everyone's Concern'' [in support of H.R. 301, to direct the President to appoint a
Special Envoy within the Department of State to Promote Religious Freedom of Religious Minorities in the Near East
and South Central AsiaDuffy (R-WI) 10/30: "Standing Against
Religious Freedom Violations" [Egypt]Kaine (D-VA) 10/29: In support of S.
653, to direct the President to appoint a Special Envoy within the Department of State to Promote Religious Freedom
of Religious Minorities in the Near East and South Central AsiaSchiff (D-CA) 10/29: "Building a New
Middle East--The Work of a Generation"
Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) 10/29: As we Celebrate International Religious Freedom Day, We Must Not Forget the Plight
of Christian Communities
McCain (R-AZ) and Graham (R-SC) 10/25: WaPo Oped - "Obama is failing the Middle East, and U.S. interests
there"
Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) 10/25: At This Critical Point in Our Dealings with Iran, Any Easing of Sanctions Would Roll
Back Years of Painstaking, Multilateral Efforts to Prevent a Nuclear Iran